Thursday, July 3, 2008

RANDOLPH, Vt. - Instead of gathering at a vigil to offer prayers for the safe return of a missing 12-year-old girl, residents found themselves mourning the news that her body had been found.

Police unearthed Brooke Bennett's body Wednesday from a makeshift grave about a mile from her uncle's house, ending a weeklong search for the subject of Vermont's first Amber Alert.

"Brooke Marie, I love you so much," her mother, Cassandra Gagnon, said at the gathering later in the picturesque town of a little more than 5,000. "I just ask that justice be done for the person who took my baby away," she said, sobbing.

The girl's father, James Bennett, added, "I know Brooke knows that we love her and will always love her."

As state police announced the grim news Wednesday evening, they said Michael Jacques, the girl's 42-year-old uncle and a convicted sex offender, will face federal kidnapping charges.

Bennett, who had just finished seventh grade at Randolph Union High School, disappeared on June 25 after being seen at a convenience store with Jacques.

Jacques (pronounced jakes) has been in custody since Sunday on charges of aggravated sexual assault against a different underage girl. He has pleaded not guilty. Jacques, who is married to the sister of Brooke's mother, has 1993 convictions for kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault.

After searching in and around his home across town for days, police said they found Brooke's body in a spot where the earth had been disturbed.

"The painful discovery of Brooke's body today is tragic and heartbreaking," State Police Director Col. James Baker said. He called the death "clearly suspicious" but declined to give details before a planned briefing Thursday morning.

In an affidavit unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington, the FBI said an unidentified 14-year-old girl told investigators she was present on June 25 when Jacques tricked Bennett into thinking she was going to a party and took her to his Randolph home to be initiated into a sex ring.

The teenager said she was led to believe Bennett "would have sex with adult males" during the initiation. The 14-year-old said she herself had been having sex with Jacques since she was 9, as part of the sex ring.

The teen, who is related to Jacques, said she and Bennett watched television for a while before Jacques told her to leave and took his niece upstairs. The witness said she left the house with her boyfriend and didn't see Bennett again.

In another blow to the family, Bennett's former stepfather, Raymond Gagnon, was formally charged Wednesday with obstructing justice in the case.

He entered no plea at the federal hearing and was denied bail pending another hearing on Monday. The 40-year-old Gagnon, who lives in Texas, was on a regular visit to Vermont when he was arrested.

According to the affidavit, Gagnon told police he accessed his former stepdaughter's MySpace page from a computer at his San Antonio home after getting login information from Jacques.

Police said they have evidence that postings to the account were altered to make it appear that the 12-year-old had discussed a secret rendezvous shortly before she disappeared.

On that day, Jacques dropped Bennett off at a convenience store, and surveillance video shows they left in separate directions. She had told family members she was going to meet a friend and visit a hospitalized relative of the friend.

At the vigil for Bennett in Randolph — a site that still featured big banners reading "Come Home, Brooke, We Love You!!" — Gary Finch, Bennett's homeroom and math teacher last year, said she was an energetic and enthusiastic learner whom he loved having in class.

"She was always volunteering, always with a smile on her face. Smart, creative. It's a tragedy. It's unbelievable. It's hard to comprehend. I didn't think anything like this would happen to such a great kid," said Finch, one of about 300 people who attended.

Finch said that when school started last fall, Bennett was nervous about transferring from her small elementary school to the high school.

Amber Alert

Andi

Andi's Safe Place

A blog to honor the memory and legacy of 12-year-old Andria (Andi) Nichole Brewer who was kidnapped, raped and strangled on May 15, 1999.

And a place to fight for the rights of other child victim's of predatory crime.

NCMEC

ABOUT THIS BLOG

This blog has been created as a place where people can voice their concern's on the issues of child abduction, predatory crimes against children, and crime victim's rights.Please contact pettybecca@yahoo.com.Thank you,RebeccaAndi's Mom

Andi's mom Rebecca

About Rebecca

After the 1999 abduction, rape, and murder of her 12-year-old daughter Andria, Rebecca Petty chose to fight for the rights of crime victims and focus her anguish on keeping the children of America safe from predatory crime and abduction. Rebecca has worked closely with law enforcement, crime victims, children, parents, law makers and her community.She is frequently called upon by regional media in the event of a child abduction or any issue involving child safety to offer her advice and insight on the issue. In her efforts to create a legacy for her daughter, Andi, Rebecca has worked in her community to fingerprint and photograph over 20,000 children and has handed out over 10,000 home DNA kits. She has appeared on national and local television shows including the Oprah Winfrey Show and Phil Donahue show as well as written articles for her local newspaper and periodicals. She is also a member of Team HOPE, a support network for families of missing children. Runner Up for the 2007 Jefferson Award. She is also a founding member of the Surviving Parent’s Coalition, a group formed to empower surviving parents of children who were abducted and sexually assaulted, or are still missing, to work together and present a unified voice for legislation and prevention education that will maximize efforts to stop child sexual abuse, exploitation and abduction. Rebecca was part of a private round-table discussion with President George W. Bush and lobbied for the Child Safety Act that created the National Amber Alert system.